Dan landed on the second platform and looked back. Right on cue, Ian was following him up the ladder.
The next station was another zip line. Then Dan crossed the third obstacle, a rope bridge that stretched
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across a dry gully. Ahead he could see the landing platform and beyond it, a long expanse of cargo net.
As he began climbing the cargo net, Dan muttered a fervent plea. "Please please let this work. ..."
The cargo net was in two sections that ascended at about a forty-five-degree angle. The first section ended at a horizontal bar set between two trees. Then a second stretch hung from several hooks underneath the next landing platform.
The timing had to be just right. Standing on the platform, Dan faked a cramp, doubled over, holding his side. Ian crossed the rope bridge and leaped onto the cargo net.
He started climbing faster once he saw that Dan wasn't moving.
Wait for it ... wait ...
When Ian was two-thirds of the way up the first section of cargo net, Dan dropped to his knees. He unhooked the second net from under the platform, scrunched the top of it so he could hold it in one hand, and then threw it as hard as he could into the air.
Ian yelled.
Dan yelled, too.
Two entirely different yells: one of panic, the other of triumph.
Ian was caught.
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CHAPTER 13
* * *
Amy knew she was in trouble as soon as the Kabras got out of the car.
She and Dan had counted on Isabel being impeccably dressed and groomed as always, wearing her signature stiletto heels. The plan had been to draw Ian one way and Natalie another into the forest, where surely Isabel wouldn't follow them. Dan would stall Ian, Amy would stall Natalie, and then they would double back to confront Isabel on her own.
But Isabel was wearing hiking sneakers and running step for step with Natalie.
It would be two against one at the waterfall.
Having scouted out the area earlier, Amy gained a bigger lead on the Kabras when she left the path for a smaller trail through the forest. If Natalie had been on her own, Amy could have tried losing her. But Amy had to keep track of where Isabel was, which meant continuing on to the waterfall.
Amy ran over a little wooden bridge that crossed a stream. A few yards farther on, she reached the
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clearing at the bottom of the falls. The waterfall was hemmed in between two rock walls covered with ferns and other lush plant life. It spilled down over a series of rock shelves, almost like a steep staircase.
Amy splashed into the water and began climbing the rocks right into the falls. There were four shelves of rock that could be climbed. Amy scaled them quickly but carefully; they were slippery with moss and algae.
The fifth shelf was too high to reach. It formed the roof of a shallow little cave, with the water pouring down the front of it like a curtain. Already soaking wet, Amy clambered onto the fourth shelf and slipped through the waterfall.
It wasn't exactly a hiding place. One look at the falls, and anyone could guess where she had gone.
She took a few steps toward the back of the cave and found the gear she and Dan had left there earlier: a mosquito net and some rope. The plan had been that if she couldn't lose Natalie, she would lead her here, throw the net over her, and tie her up. It had been Dan's idea; after deciding to trap Ian in the cargo net, he must have had nets on the brain.
It wasn't a very good plan to start with; Amy was pretty doubtful about being able to get Natalie tied up. And now, with Isabel in the picture, too ...
Amy's hands were shaking. What could she do against both of them? She looked around wildly, as if a solution might suddenly appear out of thin air.
Nothing. Her mind was blank, except for a feeling
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of terror. Any second now, the murderer of her parents would burst through the curtain of water.
* * *
If Isabel hadn't been right next to her, Natalie didn't know if she would have recognized her mother. She was soaking wet--totally inelegant--and climbing the rocks faster than Natalie thought possible.
Isabel stepped through the waterfall with Natalie right behind her. Natalie watched as her mother tossed her head gently, to shake out some of the water in her hair. She was suddenly not in a hurry anymore.
Natalie saw Amy standing against the rock wall. Isabel stretched out her hand. "The dragon, please?" she said. Her voice was raised so she could be heard over the din of the waterfall; still, Natalie was impressed by her mother's utterly calm demeanor. It was as if she were asking Amy for a chocolate or something.
"I--I don't have it with me," Amy said, edging away from Isabel. "You can search me if you want. I'm telling you the truth. It's not here, I left it back in town."
"In that case, you're coming with us," Isabel said. "Where are your cohorts? Never mind, it doesn't matter. We'll get word to them somehow, and I'm sure that once they hear of the--well, the plans I have for you--they'll come running."
Natalie didn't know what her mother's plans were, but it wouldn't be lunch and shopping, that was for sure. She felt a little flutter in her stomach.
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No blood. Please, no blood, it--it's so ... disgusting.
Natalie immediately felt guilty for her disloyalty, but she still couldn't quell the thought.
Isabel stepped forward, grabbed Amy's arm, and dragged her through the curtain of water. She pushed Amy down the rock steps, her grip so tight that Amy cried out in pain. Natalie followed, almost losing her balance several times on the slippery surface.
"We're going back to town, and you will give me that dragon," Isabel said, as if nothing could be simpler. "Then we'll get in touch with that nanny of yours."
They made their way back onto the path. Amy was doing her best to struggle against her captor but without success. Isabel's grip was like iron.
The little wooden bridge came into view. Then--
"AMY! RUN!"
Natalie saw Amy react immediately. She backward-head-butted Isabel on the chin. Isabel shrieked in pain as Amy broke free of her grasp and ran over the bridge.
There was a sudden rattling sound; Natalie couldn't make out what it was. She and Isabel raced onto the bridge.
Too late, Natalie saw dozens of small round brown objects rolling around in front of her. She slipped on one and lost her balance. The same thing happened to Isabel. Natalie grabbed on to a bridge strut to stop her fall. Her mother was not so lucky.
Isabel fell and struck her head on an iron post. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
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Natalie cried out. She saw blood coming from a gash on her mother's forehead.
Then she heard someone say, "Designer dog turds. I knew they'd come in handy."
Amy could hardly believe her eyes. It was Nellie.
She had thrown dozens of nutmegs onto the bridge and now stood at the other end, waving an empty bag.
Just then Amy heard footsteps approaching. "Amy?"
It was Dan. He came into view and stopped abruptly, taking in the scene in front of him.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Nellie crushed the bag and put one hand on her hip. "I'm off duty when I say so, not when someone else tells me," she said, staring pointedly at Amy.
Amy looked at Nellie, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Yes!" Dan pumped his fist once. "And Ian's trapped in the net--it'll take him ages to figure out a way to get down. Did you get the fang?"
Amy blinked. "Not yet," she said.
The trio walked onto the bridge. Isabel was lying on her back, her limbs splayed awkwardly. Amy could hardly think straight. It was so strange to see the invincible and terrifying Isabel on the ground like a doll tossed aside by a child.
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"We could"--Dan's voice came out a hoarse croak--"we could make sure that--that she doesn't bother us anymore."
Amy looke
d at him in wonder. How does he always seem to know what's in my head?
"Um, I don't mean--" Dan stumbled over the words. "But if--if maybe there's something that would keep her--sort of, out of action? For like, a month?"
What could they do? Hit her on the head again--would that do it? Break a few bones? Some hard kicks to the stomach and hope for internal injuries?
It had only taken a few seconds for Amy to have those thoughts, but already she knew the truth.
"We can't," she whispered.
She didn't just mean physically. She meant that they couldn't take that kind of revenge on Isabel. They had already agreed that it was justice they were after. This was another chance to prove that they were different from the rest of the Madrigals.
Dan sighed loud enough for both of them, a sigh of both relief and regret.
Natalie was kneeling over Isabel. She had taken off her jacket and was pressing the arm of it against the wound on her mother's forehead. She looked up.
"She's bleeding. Please, can you help me?"
Amy had never seen Natalie like this before. Of course, she was soaking wet, which didn't help, but
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still, Amy could tell that every vestige of polish was gone. Natalie looked like a frightened five-year-old.
Nellie checked Isabel over quickly. "Her pulse and breathing are fine. But that gash may need stitches."
"Stitches? You mean ... a scar?" Natalie asked, apparently horrified.
Nellie ignored her. "Are you doing the honors?" she asked Amy.
Amy hesitated for a moment. She's not dead--it's not like touching a dead body, she told herself. Still, it was unnerving to take Isabel's arm and push up her sleeve.
No bracelet on either arm. "The fang," Amy said to Natalie, "where is it?"
Natalie pressed her lips together and shook her head.
"You want us to search her? We can do that," Nellie said with more than a little menace in her voice.
Amy glanced quickly at Natalie, then back at Nellie.
"Give me a minute?" Amy said. "You, too, Dan."
Dan looked indignant. But he and Nellie walked off the bridge and went to stand several yards away.
Amy knelt down next to Natalie. "I need that fang," she said. "If your mother starts to come to, we'll have to knock her out again, and that wouldn't be good for her. Tell me where it is and we'll help you get her to a doctor."
Natalie frowned but said nothing.
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Amy pushed harder. "She might already have a concussion. The longer we sit here, the worse it is for her."
Natalie looked desperate. "A trade," she said. "You have a dragon she wants. I'll give you the fang, you give me the dragon."
Amy shook her head. "I can't do that," she said.
Long silence. Natalie took the pressure off her mother's wound; the bleeding had stopped. "She's going to hate having a scar," she whispered. "Do you think makeup will cover it up?"
Her mom is knocked out cold and bleeding, and she's talking about makeup??
But Natalie really did look worried.
"I don't know much about makeup," Amy said slowly. "My mom--she never got to show me. I was only seven when she died." Pause. "There are so many things I never got to do with her."
"Shopping," Natalie said. "That's what my mum and I do together mostly."
"Yeah," Amy said quietly. "I'll never get to go shopping with my mom."
Natalie's eyes widened. "That's just awful."
Amy leaned forward. "Natalie, please," she said. "Your mom needs to get to someone who can help her."
Natalie looked back at Isabel. "Promise?" she said, her voice quavery. "Promise you--you won't hurt her anymore if--if I--"
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Amy raised her hand, Scout style. "I swear," she said.
Natalie reached for one of the interior pockets at the waistband of her mother's trousers. "She put it in here," she explained. "She said that if anything happened, she might have to take off her jacket, but it would take a lot more nerve for someone to take off her trousers."
"That's pretty smart," Amy said, and meant it.
Natalie lifted the Velcro-sealed flap of the pocket and took out the fang, which was on a key ring. "She found it ages ago," she said. "She usually wears it on her charm bracelet, but she said this was safer today." She handed it to Amy, who looked at it for a moment, then closed her hand around it tightly.
Amy stood up. "Just stay here," she said. "We'll call emergency, and someone will come help you."
Natalie furrowed her brow in thought. "Wait," she said. "Do you have anything you can tie me up with?"
"You want me to tie you up?" Amy asked, startled.
Natalie nodded. "When she wakes up and finds out the fang is gone--"
"Oh, I get it," Amy said. She gave Natalie a half grin.
"That's pretty smart," she said, and meant it again.
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CHAPTER 14
* * *
Back in the car, Dan high-fived Amy so hard that her palm stung.
"We did it!" he yelled. "Cobras--go worm away on your bellies and crawl into a hole somewhere! Ha!"
Amy let herself enjoy the spark and fizz of his excitement for a few moments. Her own response was much more subdued. She felt almost dazed by the idea that they had actually gone after Isabel Kabra and succeeded in securing the fang.
Dan's enthusiasm bubbled over into a complete lack of caution. "Now we've got icons for all four branches!" he crowed, totally oblivious to Amy's look of dismay.
Great. Nellie only knew about the snakes and the fang before, but now she knows everything.
Dan babbled on. "But we still don't know what they're for, so what do we do next?"
Amy had thought this through already. "Nellie, will you call Miss Alice? Ask her if she remembers if there was anything that Grace was really interested
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in when she was here. I mean, something other than the earring."
The phone calls that followed proved even more productive than they'd hoped. Miss Alice recalled that Grace had been fascinated by the archaeological site of Port Royal and had spent a lot of time there. At Miss Alice's suggestion, they then phoned Lester at the Archives. Because Lester was a historian, he knew all about Port Royal. He would meet them there when he got off work.
The route to Port Royal took them onto the Palisadoes, a long spit of land that curved out into the ocean. The peninsula was so narrow that at times they could see the waters of Kingston Harbour on one side and the open sea on the other. Lester had instructed Nellie to drive to a church called St. Peter's. It was not a grand, impressive cathedral--just a small white church.
Lester was already there and greeted them with that nice smile of his.
"This is St. Peter's," he said. "There's something here I want you to see."
He led them to the churchyard, where there was a little cemetery.
"This one," he said, pointing to a tombstone that lay flat on the ground.
Amy read the inscription aloud.
"'Here lies the body of Lewis Galdy who departed this life at Port Royal on December 22, 1739 aged 80. He was born at Montpelier in France but left that
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country for his religion and came to settle in this island where he was swallowed up in the Great Earthquake in the year 1692 and by the providence of God was by another shock thrown into the sea and miraculously saved by swimming until a boat took him up. He lived many years after in great reputation. Beloved by all and much lamented at his Death.'"
"'Swallowed up in the Great Earthquake'?" Dan asked.
"June 7, 1692," Lester said. "A huge earthquake, followed by tidal waves and aftershocks. Supposedly, Lewis Galdy fell into a fissure like a lot of other folks. Most of them died when the aftershocks sealed the fissures. But somehow he got ejected and ended up miles out at sea."
"What a ride!" Dan exclaimed.
Lester grinned. "I thought you'd be interested."
"It's amazing he got through it alive!" Amy said.
"The earthquake destroyed two-thirds of the city," Lester said. "You probably noticed on the way here, it's pretty quiet now, just a small fishing village."
"That must have been one heck of an earthquake," Nellie said.
"I bet it was the waves," Dan said. "Like tsunamis. They probably swamped the place."
"Close," Lester said, "but not quite. The whole city was built on sand. The earthquake and the tidal waves destabilized the ground, and nearly the whole city got sucked down in quicksand."
Dan's mouth fell open. "A whole city? Wow!"
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"It's called the Sunken City now, over that way," Lester said, pointing to the northeast. "I do some research for the excavation crew. The Sunken City is considered one of the richest archaeological sites in the Caribbean--in the whole Western Hemisphere, actually. A seventeenth-century city, preserved underwater!"
Amy found his enthusiasm contagious. She had always loved history, but Lester was making her realize that it wasn't just dates and places and names. The past was alive all around him, every day.
"There are also a number of ships that are important salvage sites," he said. "They're being carefully excavated, too."
Amy was paying close attention. "Can we go there? Can we see any of the excavation work?"
Grace, she thought. Miss Alice said Grace spent a lot of time here. Probably poking around looking for stuff related to Anne Bonny or Nanny. A dig site would be the perfect place to start figuring out what she was looking for. ...
"You'd like to see it?" Lester's smile was even wider than usual. "They don't normally allow tourists, but I'll see what I can do," he said, and winked.